Hit by a ton of bricks (Inertia and Newton's First Law of Motion); 50 minutes + 30 minute extension.
State Standards:
PS3 (9-11)–9 Students demonstrate an understanding of forces and motion by…
9b using Newton’s Laws of Motion and the Law of Conservation of Momentum to predict the effect on the motion of objects.
National Standards:
CONTENT STANDARD B: As a result of their activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop an understanding of...
Motions and forces
Context of Lesson:
This lesson is designed with the intent of beginning a student's transition into an understanding of how objects move in regards to their acceleration and other ambient forces. Inertia provides the stepping-stone for physicists to explain the following physical laws of motion. During this lesson a monumental generalization must be made for the students to accurately be able to understand inertia. Students must put themselves in a hypothetical mindset where there is no air and no gravity. Often teachers will tell students to picture themselves in deep space far away from any other mass. Some of the key focuses of this lesson are:
Discussion of how Galileo laid the foundation for Newton.
Go over Galileo's experiment.
Define Inertia.
Make the association between inertia and mass.
Making the connection between rest and constant velocity.
Getting comfortable with classifying how much inertia an object has compared to another.
Opportunities to Learn:
In this lesson students will be introduced to the term inertia. Unfortunately, inertia is a very tricky property of the universe and it should be stressed that it is not a force. In fact inertia is a tendency for objects to remain at rest or in constant velocity. In this lesson the students will be introduced to how Galileo's inclined plane experiments allowed for a better understand of inertia. This experiment will conclude with a inquiry-based assignment where students will explore all depths of the taxonomy.
Depth of Knowledge:
-As discussed in the objectives section as well as seen in the inquiry based assignment at the end of the lesson; the depth of knowledge in this lesson is spread across the following categories:
Remembering
Understanding
Applying
Analyzing
Evaluating
Creating
(Due to inquiry assignment ALL tiers of the taxonomy are used in this lesson)
Prerequisite Knowledge:
-Students should come with the comprehensive understanding of different types of forces provided in the previous lesson.
Plans for Differentiating Instruction:
-For students who are shy and do not work well with others (not interpersonal M.I.'s); have them in groups with people they are friendly with and try to coerce them into being group leaders in reporting out to the teacher as the teacher circles around the room.
Accommodations and modifications:
Environmental factors:
Materials:
Punching bags or other similar devices Is one of these present in the room you will be teaching in?
Homework ditto on inertia
All materials for group 1: ???
All materials for group 2:
All materials for group 3:
All materials for group 4:
Inquiry-assignment take-home sheet
Objectives:
-Some of the key focuses of this lesson include the following:
Defining Inertia.
Associating between inertia and mass.
Making the connection between rest and constant velocity.
Classifying how much inertia an object has compared to another.
Convert these to student objectives.
Instruction:
Opening:
First 5 minutes of class:
Settling in a class attendance. What will students be doing during this time?
5:00-20:00 of class: How are you going to introduce this topic? What observations that students wonder about are you going to address?
Brief description of Galileo and his history.
Explain to the students how Galileo did an experiment that laid the foundation for Newton to create his 3 laws.
Draw up various inclined planes on the smartboard with a dotted line as the horizontal.
Explain how Galileo reasoned that objects rolling down a frictionless inclined plane (that goes back up) will only roll back up a maximum of their initial height.
However, in the real-world the objects never roll ALL the way back up the plane because of friction that opposes the movement of the object.
Then, direct the students with the question: "What if the inclined plane goes down then levels off and never returns to the original horizontal?" What will happen to the object?
Are you going to present this as a "thought experiment?" How are you going to address their answers?
Engagement:
20:00-35:00 of class:
Based on Galileo's experiment define inertia:
"Inertia is the natural tendency of an object to maintain a state of rest or to remain in uniform motion in a straight line (constant velocity)."
Explain how Newton defined that an object resists any change in motion proportional to how much mass it has.
Therefore, objects with more mass are harder to move or subsequently harder to stop.
Have class come up to the front of the room and demonstrate with two boxing-punching bags (could substitute with anything heavy/light)
Have a couple students volunteer to push the punching bag as far as they can. Ask the class "which punching bag is harder to push, the lighter one or the heavier one?"
Then, as the bag comes back towards the student who pushed it, "which one will be harder to stop from knocking you down?"
Did you research some other demonstrations of inertia. I used to have students try to shake a brick that is resting on a dynamics cart. Inertia is the resistance they feel to changing the direction of the brick's motion.
Closure:
35:00-45:00 of class:
Have class seated and distribute ditto for homework that asks questions regarding inertia.
Extension:
40:00-80:00 of class:
Break the class up into 4 groups. The students will move from group-to-group after 10 minutes. What will you say to setup/explain the activity?Won't each group of students be moving from station to station? If so, you should change the labeling on your worksheet.
-Group 1:
The students in this group will have to construct their own ball-bearing tracks out of PVC piping and tape. At the table will be a level and the students will have to keep the start-point and end point on the track level. Starting with the two points close together they will gradually extend the track while keeping the start-end level. Challenge the students to create a track with the smallest angle (longest distance between start-end point. While keeping the start-end points level.
-Group 2:
Have the students build their own ball-bearing track out of PVC similar to group 1. In this group they will make only one track. However, at the bottom of the track the students will place a variety of objects with different masses. At the table will be a scale and a ruler. Assuming the ball is moving at approximately the same speed at the bottom of the track every time the students should notice the heavier objects are moving less upon impact compared to the lighter objects.
-Group 3:
Have the students use a pre-made PVC track similar looking to group 2's. However, this track is extended at the bottom of the track where the PVC is horizontal along the table. At this group the students will have a ruler and one light block. The students will drop the block from the same point on the track and the ball-bearing will strike the object at 5cm from the start of the horizontal part. Record how far the object moves upon impact. Then move the block to the 10cm mark and repeat and record how far the block slides. Then move the block to the 20cm mark and repeat. The students should notice the block is sliding the same distance every time the ball-bearing hits it. Therefore the students should imagine that if the block were 100cm or 1000cm away the same thing should result. Meaning the ball-bearing is always moving at the same velocity. Verifying Galileo's theory of the ball rolling "forever".
-Group 4:
Have the students construct their own pendulums out of test-tube stands, string, and ball-bearings. The students should construct 2 pendulums as a group. The group will use a large piece of poster board as a backdrop. The students will put one light ball-bearing on the first pendulum and one heavy ball-bearing on the other. They will drop both from the same height and see how far they go on the other side. Students should verify that all objects fall at the same rate and therefore mass is not relevant to how high the object goes. Then the students should drop the object from the same height as before; however, this time place blocks of equal mass at the bottom of the pendulums. After impact the two blocks will clearly move different distances. But didn't the blocks move around the pendulum at the same velocity?
Assessment:
-After the inquiry assignment the students should keep a log of everything they saw and predicted at each group. The students will then answer a list of questions on a handout regarding what they experienced in the mini-labs.
-The goal of the handout is for the students to be able to digest some of the information that they were presented with during the mini-labs. There is no doubt that the 4 mini-labs are designed to be quick with a straightforward procedure. However, what the students are supposed to extract out of them is sometimes apparent and sometimes more hidden. Most questions on the hand-out will start with phrases like "Picture the setup of group 1", and "Imagine redoing experiment 2 in your head"; so students will start to practice replaying past events in their minds at home where they're not being rushed to obtain an answer.
If you asked students to diagram each setup and summarize their observations, then they would have a record in their notes that you could ask them about later, when inertia comes up in other discussions.
How will you close the lesson? How will you know what they are taking away from their experiences?
Rhode Island Department of Education Lesson Plan
Lesson Title:
Hit by a ton of bricks (Inertia and Newton's First Law of Motion); 50 minutes + 30 minute extension.State Standards:
PS3 (9-11)–9 Students demonstrate an understanding of forces and motion by…National Standards:
CONTENT STANDARD B: As a result of their activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop an understanding of...Context of Lesson:
This lesson is designed with the intent of beginning a student's transition into an understanding of how objects move in regards to their acceleration and other ambient forces. Inertia provides the stepping-stone for physicists to explain the following physical laws of motion. During this lesson a monumental generalization must be made for the students to accurately be able to understand inertia. Students must put themselves in a hypothetical mindset where there is no air and no gravity. Often teachers will tell students to picture themselves in deep space far away from any other mass. Some of the key focuses of this lesson are:Opportunities to Learn:
In this lesson students will be introduced to the term inertia. Unfortunately, inertia is a very tricky property of the universe and it should be stressed that it is not a force. In fact inertia is a tendency for objects to remain at rest or in constant velocity. In this lesson the students will be introduced to how Galileo's inclined plane experiments allowed for a better understand of inertia. This experiment will conclude with a inquiry-based assignment where students will explore all depths of the taxonomy.Depth of Knowledge:
-As discussed in the objectives section as well as seen in the inquiry based assignment at the end of the lesson; the depth of knowledge in this lesson is spread across the following categories:- Remembering
- Understanding
- Applying
- Analyzing
- Evaluating
- Creating
(Due to inquiry assignment ALL tiers of the taxonomy are used in this lesson)Prerequisite Knowledge:
-Students should come with the comprehensive understanding of different types of forces provided in the previous lesson.Plans for Differentiating Instruction:
-For students who are shy and do not work well with others (not interpersonal M.I.'s); have them in groups with people they are friendly with and try to coerce them into being group leaders in reporting out to the teacher as the teacher circles around the room.Accommodations and modifications:
Environmental factors:
Materials:
Objectives:
-Some of the key focuses of this lesson include the following:- Defining Inertia.
- Associating between inertia and mass.
- Making the connection between rest and constant velocity.
- Classifying how much inertia an object has compared to another.
Convert these to student objectives.Instruction:
Opening:
- First 5 minutes of class:
Settling in a class attendance. What will students be doing during this time?- 5:00-20:00 of class: How are you going to introduce this topic? What observations that students wonder about are you going to address?
Brief description of Galileo and his history.Explain to the students how Galileo did an experiment that laid the foundation for Newton to create his 3 laws.
Draw up various inclined planes on the smartboard with a dotted line as the horizontal.
Explain how Galileo reasoned that objects rolling down a frictionless inclined plane (that goes back up) will only roll back up a maximum of their initial height.
However, in the real-world the objects never roll ALL the way back up the plane because of friction that opposes the movement of the object.
Then, direct the students with the question: "What if the inclined plane goes down then levels off and never returns to the original horizontal?" What will happen to the object?
Are you going to present this as a "thought experiment?" How are you going to address their answers?
Engagement:
- 20:00-35:00 of class:
Based on Galileo's experiment define inertia:"Inertia is the natural tendency of an object to maintain a state of rest or to remain in uniform motion in a straight line (constant velocity)."
Explain how Newton defined that an object resists any change in motion proportional to how much mass it has.
Therefore, objects with more mass are harder to move or subsequently harder to stop.
Have class come up to the front of the room and demonstrate with two boxing-punching bags (could substitute with anything heavy/light)
Have a couple students volunteer to push the punching bag as far as they can. Ask the class "which punching bag is harder to push, the lighter one or the heavier one?"
Then, as the bag comes back towards the student who pushed it, "which one will be harder to stop from knocking you down?"
Did you research some other demonstrations of inertia. I used to have students try to shake a brick that is resting on a dynamics cart. Inertia is the resistance they feel to changing the direction of the brick's motion.
Closure:
- 35:00-45:00 of class:
Have class seated and distribute ditto for homework that asks questions regarding inertia.Extension:
- 40:00-80:00 of class:
Break the class up into 4 groups. The students will move from group-to-group after 10 minutes. What will you say to setup/explain the activity? Won't each group of students be moving from station to station? If so, you should change the labeling on your worksheet.-Group 1:
The students in this group will have to construct their own ball-bearing tracks out of PVC piping and tape. At the table will be a level and the students will have to keep the start-point and end point on the track level. Starting with the two points close together they will gradually extend the track while keeping the start-end level. Challenge the students to create a track with the smallest angle (longest distance between start-end point. While keeping the start-end points level.-Group 2:
Have the students build their own ball-bearing track out of PVC similar to group 1. In this group they will make only one track. However, at the bottom of the track the students will place a variety of objects with different masses. At the table will be a scale and a ruler. Assuming the ball is moving at approximately the same speed at the bottom of the track every time the students should notice the heavier objects are moving less upon impact compared to the lighter objects.-Group 3:
Have the students use a pre-made PVC track similar looking to group 2's. However, this track is extended at the bottom of the track where the PVC is horizontal along the table. At this group the students will have a ruler and one light block. The students will drop the block from the same point on the track and the ball-bearing will strike the object at 5cm from the start of the horizontal part. Record how far the object moves upon impact. Then move the block to the 10cm mark and repeat and record how far the block slides. Then move the block to the 20cm mark and repeat. The students should notice the block is sliding the same distance every time the ball-bearing hits it. Therefore the students should imagine that if the block were 100cm or 1000cm away the same thing should result. Meaning the ball-bearing is always moving at the same velocity. Verifying Galileo's theory of the ball rolling "forever".-Group 4:
Have the students construct their own pendulums out of test-tube stands, string, and ball-bearings. The students should construct 2 pendulums as a group. The group will use a large piece of poster board as a backdrop. The students will put one light ball-bearing on the first pendulum and one heavy ball-bearing on the other. They will drop both from the same height and see how far they go on the other side. Students should verify that all objects fall at the same rate and therefore mass is not relevant to how high the object goes. Then the students should drop the object from the same height as before; however, this time place blocks of equal mass at the bottom of the pendulums. After impact the two blocks will clearly move different distances. But didn't the blocks move around the pendulum at the same velocity?Assessment:
-After the inquiry assignment the students should keep a log of everything they saw and predicted at each group. The students will then answer a list of questions on a handout regarding what they experienced in the mini-labs.- Handout
-The goal of the handout is for the students to be able to digest some of the information that they were presented with during the mini-labs. There is no doubt that the 4 mini-labs are designed to be quick with a straightforward procedure. However, what the students are supposed to extract out of them is sometimes apparent and sometimes more hidden. Most questions on the hand-out will start with phrases like "Picture the setup of group 1", and "Imagine redoing experiment 2 in your head"; so students will start to practice replaying past events in their minds at home where they're not being rushed to obtain an answer.If you asked students to diagram each setup and summarize their observations, then they would have a record in their notes that you could ask them about later, when inertia comes up in other discussions.
How will you close the lesson? How will you know what they are taking away from their experiences?
Reflections
(only done after lesson is enacted)Student Work Sample 1 – Approaching Proficiency:
Student Work Sample 2 – Proficient:
Student Work Sample 3 – Exceeds Proficiency: